Loughlan Campbell

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DOZENS of families are celebrating after a park that has been locked up for the past year was finally opened for the summer holidays.

Residents of the Guardians Gate estate in Milton, Portsmouth had been left frustrated after the gates to the play park were closed.

Children and parents celebrate the opening of the park

Bellway Homes – the developer behind the estate off Union Road – finished construction on the park last summer, but the gates were left locked for a year.

But after a campaign by residents to get the park in use, the gates were finally opened by the developer on July 15.

Luke Fuller, who moved to the estate back in 2015, said: ‘It is really great to finally have it open. We have been waiting three years for this as Bellway said it would be finished the summer we moved in.

‘All we’ve wanted was for our kids to be able to play in it, so this really is a win for the community.

For the last year, you have seen kids just looking through the gate, desperate to get in so they are all very happy now

Luke Fuller

‘For the past year, you have seen kids just looking through the gate, desperate to get in so they are all very happy now.’

A spokesman for Portsmouth City Council said that the authority had no jurisdiction over the park, but would be keen to look after it.

He said: ‘We are happy to take on responsibility for it, but we are waiting for the developer to complete a legal agreement concerning sewage and drainage.

‘The council is not involved in this agreement.

‘Once it is in place, we can make arrangements to transfer responsibility for the land.’

Bellway Homes was unavailable for comment as The News went to print last night.